Man caught trying to break into Gov. Brown’s apartment

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that a man was recently caught trying to break into his Sacramento apartment while he was away.

Brown mentioned the incident while addressing a crime victims' group at the state Capitol, telling the crowd, "just a few days ago, a gentleman was found on my balcony trying to break in."

The Democratic governor also said three men were caught trying to break into his Oakland home last year while his wife, Anne Gust Brown, was home, and the California Highway Patrol responded.

"So the CHP, luckily, came to the scene and held them for 40 minutes and then they said they were looking to buy real estate in the neighborhood and the Oakland police let 'em go because the CHP deferred to them," Brown told several hundred people at the Tuesday event. "Well that's not going to happen anymore."

He later told reporters the man got on the roof of the four-story loft in Sacramento then jumped to the balcony and was trying to break in when he was spotted by a neighbor.

"One of my neighbors called the police, and he was arrested and I think he's out on his own recognizance," Brown said.

The man was found around 9:35 p.m. on another balcony in the building, police spokeswoman Michele Gigante said. Police believe he gained access to the roof from the building's stairwell.

Authorities said Jamal Maurice Johnson, 26, was arrested for investigation of prowling but has not been formally charged. He faces a May 9 court date, according to the Sacramento County district attorney's office.

"There was nothing to lead us to believe that the guy even knew that the governor lived at that building," Gigante said.